Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Nerva (97, issued by Nerva): Artwork and History

Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Nerva (97, issued by Nerva) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Roman; minted in Rome.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Obverse: Head of Nerva right, laureate Reverse: Libertas, standing left, holding pileus and scepter In A.D. 96 Emperor Domitian (r. A.D. 81–96) who fancied himself a god, was assassinated with the assent of his wife. To avert a succession battle, the Army and the Senate stepped in to choose the next ruler. From A.D. 96 to 180, Rome enjoyed a series of five wise leaders who were chosen for their merit and who came to be known as the "Good Emperors." Nerva (r. A.D. 96–98; no. 1), an honest and respected senator, took the throne with the understanding that he would be succeeded by a popular general from Spain named Trajan (r. A.D. 98–117). Although Nerva ruled only two years, he enacted compassionate social programs and is considered the first of the Good Emperors. For the next 85 years each emperor would select from among the best possible candidates, adopting his chosen successor as his son.

Object facts

• Title: Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Nerva
• Date: 97, issued by Nerva
• Artist attribution: Roman; minted in Rome
• Place of origin: Rome
• Medium: Gold
• Dimensions: Diam.: 1.9 cm (3/4 in.)
• Type: Coin
• Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
• Reference number: 1922.4870

Collection credit

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.